A precisely similar kind of thing happened at another nest, but in this instance the lady was stronger minded, and refused to be bullied into the performance of her duties.
In this particular wood, which was of no great size, four pairs of these interesting birds lived within a few hundred yards of each other. The males appeared to spend the day in catching winged and other insects for the females, in singing, and chasing each other away from particular spheres of influence.
The Pied Flycatcher, like its commoner relative, the Spotted Flycatcher, is a migratory bird, arriving in this country in April and leaving again in September and October.
It builds its nest generally in holes in trees, but sometimes in old walls. The structure is composed of dry grass, dead leaves, and moss, with an inner lining of hair and feathers.
THE LINNET.
Male Linnets vary almost as much in the colour of their feathers as they do in the quality of their songs. A fine specimen, arrayed in all the glory of his summer dress, has the forehead and crown glossy blood-red, the rest of the head black, and sides of the neck brownish-grey, back and upper wing coverts deep reddish-brown; wing quills dusky, edged with white; upper tail coverts dark brown; tail quills brownish-black, edged with white, except in the case of the two centre feathers; chin and throat greyish-white, streaked along the middle with greyish-brown; breast glossy rose-red. The last-named colour varies greatly in intensity, and in some birds is almost absent. In fact, as Yarrell says, perfect specimens are not often met with, and the carmine cap and breast are generally replaced by brownish lake-red.
Some adult male Linnets have lemon-yellow breasts, and in Germany are considered old birds and the best singers.
The female is a trifle smaller than the male and lacks the red on the top of the head and breast.